Intuitive Tools for Digital Artists

First movie preview of CS6 plugin developments

Progress for Astute Graphics’ updates for Adobe Illustrator CS6 has been marching on feverishly since the beginning of 2012. With its new user interface, 64 bit rework and much more, this upgrade has been by far the most technically challenging for all Illustrator plugin developers.

We are now in a position to be able to preview our tools in action within Illustrator CS6 for Mac OS…

Direct YouTube HD movie link: http://youtu.be/huIYUlkXdSw

As may be seen from the movie, our attention to detail is driving our desire to ensure that the forthcoming releases are as seamlessly integrated within Illustrator as possible.

We are now also at a stage to offer a more detailed set of estimated release dates and stages at which users may access these tools.

Gaining access to CS6 plugins

All products purchased from Astute Graphics since 6 March 2012 (click for details) have been supplied with CS6-compatible license keys. This includes those who upgraded from that date to previously-purchased products.

Astute Graphics will release public beta versions of the CS6 plugins to allow those with the necessary license keys to access the tools early. Whereas the beta status dictates that the software will not have yet received the full level of testing normally associated with our products, they will be functionally near-or-fully complete.

All purchases, including upgrades, made now or in the future will automatically gain license keys compatible with these beta releases.

Upgrades allowing customers to upgrade specifically to CS6 (ie. no functionality changes) will be made available around the time Phantasm CS’ first public beta is made available. Prices will be kept to a minimum and confirmed closer to the time.

Projected release dates

The following dates are provided as an estimate based on our more advanced development progress. However, they are all subject to change. We will make any changes public at the first opportunity.

SubScribe

Full release (Mac OS): July 2012

Phantasm CS

First public beta (Mac OS): August 2012

VectorScribe and DrawScribe

First public beta (Mac OS): September 2012

When will Windows releases be made available?

It is anticipated that Windows releases will follow a couple of months following their Mac OS counterparts. This is due to the amount of low-level development required to match Adobe’s new UI as closely as possible on both platforms.

Astute Graphics naturally values Windows and Mac OS customers equally, but Mac OS development was prioritised to the vastly greater percentage of customers using Apple’s operating system.

CS6 development insight

This section is only intended for those who are interested or curious as to why work on CS6 plugin upgrades is so intensive…

Adobe’s upgrade to Illustrator CS6 was no minor step — it is possibly to most involved single development that has taken place in the 25-year-old product since its original launch. Most people notice the different User Interface (UI) first, with its new style and darker-by-default look. But its appearance is literally only scratching the surface of the internal changes that had been made. The change to 64-bit has been covered by various commentators, including ex-Illustrator Product Manager, Mordy Golding in his blog.

But what did the CS6 upgrade mean to Illustrator plugin developers? The main, but not exclusive, issue was the removal of Adobe’s ADM system. This admittedly dated technology was the backbone to many Illustrator plugins; it provided the means by which plugins could build a consistent UI across both Windows and Mac operating systems. At Astute Graphics, we take great pride in that each plugin looks and feels part of Illustrator, which leads to real benefits of an improved user experience and reduced learning time.

With the ADM removed and no Adobe-led substitute, all plugin developers have had to take a decision on the best route to recreate and build all aspects of the UI. With Astute Graphics’ extensive and polished toolset, this was never going to be a trivial task. This is compounded by complex and sophisticated UI operations offered by the likes of the Phantasm CS Curves tool and DrawScribe’s InkScribe Preference panel.

Several options were considered including Nokia’s Qt cross-platform UI toolkit. But we finally decided to take a more involved route that would result in greater initial development investment. However, we are now seeing the benefits of all the work undertaken as we feel the quality by which we can match Adobe’s new UI style is truly excellent. Once again, the user experience boundary between Adobe’s own tools in Illustrator CS6 and Astute Graphics’ plugins is very hard to define.

Other benefits of Astute Graphics’ chosen method are:

  • The flexibility allowed for existing and future plugin developments
  • Use of minimal resource overheads with the resultant benefits of best possible speed of operation
  • Removal of shared resource (eg. Qt) clash risk

We are painfully aware of how many existing customers want to get their hands on CS6 upgrades. But equally we have also recognised that an even greater number of customers will remain with CS3 to CS5.1 for the foreseeable future. Therefore, even though CS6 development has been our top priority in 2012, you can still expect new and exciting developments from Astute Graphics beyond the CS6 releases this year!

Comments (14)

  2. Hi Chris – yes, there will be a discounted upgrade specifically for CS6. Pricing will be announced closer to availability (when the public betas come about).

  3. As a Window using Astute customer, who purchased all the available plug-ins – except Phantasm which I was about to purchase as well – I feel a little left in the dark with the knowledge that I even have to wait another couple of months to use the plug-ins that I have been using until I needed to upgrade to CS6.

    However I understand the tremendous amount of work to get your plug-ins fully compatible with the major Illustrator CS6 update.

    Windows users like myself can only cross fingers and wait for some magic to happen soon.

  4. Hi Gert – thanks for your understanding. The fact we chose Mac OS first was merely due to the proportion of users on one platform rather than the other. Normally when we release something, we hold back until both platforms are complete, but due to the demand and the ability to publicly beta this release, we chose this route.

    But fear not – the foundations of the Windows variant’s developments shares much with Mac OS.

  5. This is great news. Since our company upgraded to CS6, you would not believe how much I’ve missed my illustrator tools. I’m excited that an updated release is near!

  6. I am a mac user and I have to say the update has taken longer than expected, this is rather disappointing. My only issue now is will the CS6 release be compatible with Mac OSX Mountain Lion?? Hopefully we won’t have to wait for another 5-6 months. Waiting for technology to catch up is a little annoying for the creative industry.

  7. Hi Amy – I agree the length of time required is not ideal. However, it is unlikely that this level of rework and redevelopment will be required for years. The previous 4 Ai upgrades were all catered for within a month, which should be the norm.

  10. Thanks for the update, really looking forward to the Windows release. Please don’t hold back on us too much. Having previously used Xtream Path, which had no CS6 upgrade, I purchased Vectorscribe Studio specifically for CS6 mistakenly thinking that it was CS6-ready, because I misread the “CS6 Information” on the VS page.. So having purchased it I can’t wait to be able to actually use it.

  11. Thanks for the updates, it must stink having to use all of this development time just getting it working again. Hopefully the framework you’re creating will lead to exciting new developments in the future. Adobe left a lot of 3rd party developers in the dark with cs6 dropping ADM, discontinuing pixel blender toolkit, etc… Hopefully they won’t do this every release.

    I’m a cross platform user, pc and mac, if you want someone to test both out…

  12. Hi Chris – I really don’t see this as being anything but a one-off. A bit like when Apple had to inconvenience its own platform developers when moving to OSX. But then the advantages were laid down for years to come…

  13. It sounds like VectorScribe and DrawScribe for Wintel might arrive sometime in spring of 2013, if I’m reading the post correctly.

    While this is disappointing (to say the least!), I really appreciate your candor, which will allow me to make important adjustments to my work priorities. When I was a developer, a situation like this would have been extremely uncomfortable and frustrating, so I empathise with your position. I hope everything moves swiftly and steadily to a new level of cool!

    Allen

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